The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas Volume I, II, and III

Chiefdoms 645
Centralization and the formation of chiefdoms had taken place or was
taking place in the 1460s, the result of consolidation of power that had
been in process for some time. Nevertheless, competition among political
leaders was strong and was manipulated by Inka officials in attracting a
number of lords to their camp. The Huanca capitulated after strong
resistance by some chiefs. Inka administrators resettled those who had
opposed them and divided the area into three sayas, or sections - Jatunsausa
(Jatunjauja), Lurinhuanca, and Ananhuanca - apparently with correlation
to a previous tripartite division. They also shifted some of the
population to lower elevations. In each section natives and mitmaqkuna
introduced by the Inka were organized along the decimal system into
pachacas and guarangas, administrative units of approximately 100 and
1,000 taxpayers, respectively. Inka administrators drew on local elites in
appointing paramount lords of the Huanca sayas and heads of pachacas
and guarangas. As elites, officeholders continued to have special privileges
in the form of services, private lands, and special cloth {qumpi). Some
heads of ayllus kinship/territorial units were permitted to remain in their
preconquest positions. Huanca officials provided the Inka with soldiers
for the campaigns in Quito but turned against them when Spanish
expeditions arrived and became allies of the Europeans.
In the province of Huanuco (Department of Huanuco), there were
several distinct native groups, among them, Quero, Yacha, and Chupachu.
The Quero and Yacha were organized by Inka Huayna Capac into
one guaranga, but by the late 1520s or early 1530s, Inka Huascar had
reorganized Quero populations, grouping them with Chupachu into four
guarangas. Spanish visitas of 1549 and 1562 indicate that Quero and
Chupachu were closely connected as parts of one overarching native
political unit. Although the two had political leaders prior to Inka conquest,
their positions were not inherited, and their influence was only
local: "The Indian followers of the deceased gave the lordship to another
who was praiseworthy and not to the son." 85 The two chiefs whom the
Inka placed at the head of each guaranga were probably traditional
leaders, but by virtue of the new organization, their positions could now
be inherited by their sons. A more inclusive level of political organization,
involving all the guarangas and headed by a cacique principal, emerged
after the Europeans established themselves in the area. In the visita of
1562, a cacique of Auquimarca stated that Paucar Guaman had been an
8S
Inigo Ortiz de Zuniga, Visita de la Provincia de Ledn de Huanuco en 1562, 2 vols., (Huanuco,
1967-1972), I, 65-66. Declaration of die principal, Masco, of the pueblo of Chupa.
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